Concerned Women assists court case for Washington Referendum 71 sponsors

From Christian Newswire
and Other Reports

     WASHINGTON, D.C. — Concerned Women for America (CWA) filed a “friend of the court” brief in the U.S. Supreme Court March 5 in support of Protect Marriage Washington in its case that goes before the court this month.
    The case is Doe #1, Doe #2 and Protect Marriage Washington v. Reed et al.
    Concerned Women for America's Washington state group assisted Protect Marriage Washington in collecting signatures for the Referendum 71 petition, the subject of the Supreme Court case.
    An effort largely led by conservative Christians succeded in getting Referendum 71 on last November’s statewide ballot in Washington by securing the signatures of 138,000 state residents, but failed to persuade a majority of voters to overturn the same-sex domestic partnership law.
Now, the coalition that sponsored the petition effort is asking the High Court to block the release of the names of those who signed, citing threats of violence against the petition signers and churches.
    Penny Nance, chief executive officer for Concerned Women for America, said, “CWA seeks to protect the individuals who signed the petition from having their support of Referendum 71, their personal information, and the address of their family’s home globally publicized on the Internet by groups with a history of harassment and intimidation against those opposed to the homosexual viewpoint.”
    Maureen Richardson, state director for CWA of Washington, said, “Privacy is a big issue. The people’s right to ‘exercise the legislative power’ through referenda and initiatives will be severely hampered by publicizing names through Internet listings, etc. In a perfect world where others do not wish us harm, public disclosure of citizens’ personal information made available on a referendum or initiative might be acceptable, but in a world where advocates are threatened as I have been, making it easier for predators to access their victims is not necessarily in the public interest and certainly not in the victim’s.”
    Sharon Blakeney, an allied attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund and counsel for Concerned Women for America in filing their brief, stated, “If the names and personal information of the voters who signed the R-71 petition are released and published on the Internet, they will be subjected to torment and intimidation by homosexual activists from all corners of the globe. Signing the R-71 petition was essentially casting a vote on the ultimate issue, and the signatures, home addresses, and all other personal information on the petition should be treated with the Constitutional protections and confidentiality of a secret ballot.”
    The Doe #1, Doe #2 and Protect Marriage Washington v. Reed et al., case is scheduled for oral argument before the United States Supreme Court on Wednesday, April 28.

     Concerned Women for America is the nation’s largest public policy women's organization.